Shinobi Rules of Conduct
by MiekoYagyu
Summary: Uchiha Itachi has always been the perfect ninja. He's followed the rules to the letter, but for one time...


**Disclaimer: **Itachi and anything Naruto related is not mine. If I did own it, Sasuke wouldn't be absolutely bonkers or getting an upgrade every time he turns around. (Although I laughed when it turned out he's mostly blind. He had the Mangekyou for all of a couple of weeks and his eyesight is worse than Itachi's, who had it for years. What does that say?)

3/12/10

**---**

_**A shinobi is a tool to be used by his leaders.**_

Mikoto smiled down at her eldest son, who stared up at her with confusion in his eyes. "What is it, sweetheart?"

"Mother," Itachi said solemnly (so solemn that it made Mikoto want to cry a bit inside, because her little boy- her _child_, for God's sake- shouldn't sound so old), "why does Father say that I am going to be the key to bringing the Uchiha to greatness?"

Mikoto stilled, her hands freezing for half a second before resuming cooking. She put on a bright (fake) smile for her son and answered, "That's because you're so smart, Itachi! Your father can already see that you're going to be a great ninja, the best ninja the Uchiha Clan will ever see."

Itachi bit his lip and looked away. "But what if I don't want to be a ninja?" he muttered underneath his breath so quietly that Mikoto had to use her kunoichi techniques to catch it. Her heart shattered.

She set down her spoon (Who cared about the soup? Her son needed her!), and wrapped her arms around the small boy. Itachi stiffened, already wary of people touching him because ninja never let their guard down, even with family. "Itachi, you know that I'm always going to be here for you, right? And so will Sasuke when he's born-" At this, she took Itachi's hand and laid it over her round stomach- "and Cousin Shisui, and your father." _Even if he does want to turn you into a weapon. Even if the Uchiha Clan needs you to be their sword against all who dare try to bring us down._

Itachi was silent for three long, agonizing seconds. "I understand, Mother," he whispered. Being a ninja was the only path for the Uchiha Prodigy. He understood this, even if he was only five.

_**A ninja does not feel emotions, nor does he let pain get in his way.**_

Itachi panted harshly as he lay upon the scorched grass. His mouth and skin around it burned red-hot, his lips cracked and dry. His fingers had blisters on them, but he didn't move from his spot. He was exhausted.

His father stood over him, surveying the damage Itachi had done to the targets. "Hm." Fugaku stepped towards what had been a tree, but was now only a twisted, charred husk. "It can do with some improving. You're not quick enough with the hand seals yet." He swept a hand down the burnt trunk, hand coming away black. "The heat needs to be upped as well. " He looked over at his son, who was still lying on the ground. Fugaku tilted his head and crossed his arms. Itachi got the hint and stood up, swaying on his feet as he did so. Fugaku nodded, pleased with his son's resilience. "Again."

Itachi felt his wounds throb at the words, dismay springing up quickly before he crushed it down ruthlessly. His father just wanted him to improve, that's all. The only way to improve was to train, and train hard. So Itachi took a deep breath before weaving the hand seals again.

"_Katon: Karyuu Endan!_" And so the eight-year-old genius set the world ablaze once more.

_**The mission is the key priority. Everything else is secondary.**_

"Itachi," came his father's rough voice from the engawa. Itachi looked away from his otouto to see his father at the shouji door, looking grim. "Come with me."

A disappointed sigh came behind him and Itachi turned to see a dejected Sasuke. "Mou! Just when I got him to teach me how to throw kunai…" It always mystified Itachi why Sasuke so badly wanted to be just like his aniki when said aniki despised what he was.

Itachi gave a small smile (that only Sasuke and Shisui got to see) and motioned Sasuke over. Like always, Sasuke came running over, and, like always, got poked in the forehead by two slender, calloused fingers.

"Sorry, Sasuke. Maybe some other time." Itachi ignored his brother's irate _'You always say that, nii-san!' _and went over to his father. "What is it?" he asked in a polite tone, but not feeling very polite at all. He had been planning to spend some quality time with Sasuke, darn it!

His father just beckoned him to follow and set off into the house, towards his father's study. Itachi suddenly felt his stomach grow heavy. His father's study was were Fugaku would order Itachi to do something that usually helped the clan at the cost of Itachi's mental well-being. Like becoming an emotionless killing machine at seven.

They entered the study and Itachi felt mildly surprised to see his mother kneeling there already. She looked like the picture of classic Uchiha poise, calm and stoic. Itachi took his spot in front of his mother seiza-style, as was proper. His father took his own seat next to Mikoto, cross-legged.

"Itachi," his father said again. "There is something the Uchiha Clan requires of you."

_I knew it. _"What can this one do to help out the Clan?" The words felt bitter in his mouth. He had lost his family years ago. Now the only thing he had left besides those precious to him was this cheap, arrogant imitation calling itself the Uchiha Clan.

"As you know, you are a highly skilled shinobi. There are people looking at your skills and see that you are ready to ascend to a higher rank," Fugaku said. "They want you for ANBU."

Itachi closed his eyes. ANBU? The elite of the elite, the best killers that were under the Hokage's direct command? His pacifistic nature brought up the past.

_Blood splattered down a shinobi's body, head going one way the body flopping towards the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. People screamed obscenities and nonsense, hatred and bloodlust coloring the air red. Fire raged and lightning cracked across the air looking for people to kill, and explosions were only a few short feet away from him and oh dear god heads weren't supposed to turn that way--!_

His eyes opened. "I see."

"We want you to take their offer." Fugaku was stone, no emotion slipping through. "It would benefit the Clan."

"If I may ask, how does it help?" Itachi asked, trying to get out of it. ANBU would never appeal to him. Not after the war.

Fugaku gazed at him somberly. "We need you to be our spy on the village."

With those words, Itachi saw Konoha burning.

_**Absolute loyalty to the village is the only thing. Anything else is treason.**_

The Third Hokage and the Village Elders sat behind their desks, looking very serious. Danzou stood in the corner, wrapped in bandages from head to toe. His hand was wrapped tightly around his cane, his eye glinting dangerously.

Sandaime-sama was the first to speak. "This is very grave news, indeed, Itachi. Are you sure that this is not some misunderstanding?"

"Iie, Hokage-sama. There is no misunderstanding," said Itachi. It had been a horrible night for him, having to decide between his clan and his country. He told the Hokage what the Uchiha were planning because he, at thirteen-years-old, could see the folly in thinking that one clan with a bloodline was enough to take on another doujutsu-using clan along with several other highly prestigious clans like the Yamanaka and Aburame all at once. Greedy shinobi villages, like Kumo or Iwa, would definitely pounce on the burning wreakage that would've been Konohagakure.

"Well." Danzou tapped his cane against the ground to bring the attention to him. "You must see what we will have to do."

Homura nodded, his mouth in a thin line. "Yes. The Uchiha are too dangerous. We must eliminate the threat against our village."

Itachi was as still as a statue in his crouching position. _Assassination, _his mind whispered to him. _The conspirators will be killed for treason. _It was the logical thing to do, actually the only thing to do, but his heart still skipped a beat, because his father and mother were the ringleaders. And as the son of the Clan Head, Sasuke would not be exempt from his parents' crimes.

_ That is unacceptable. I would rather die than see Sasuke dead. _

The Hokage frowned at Homura's comment. "Genocide is not the answer. We here in Konoha have been praised to be a safe haven for bloodlines everywhere. To think that we would take a page from the history books of the Bloody Mist—"

"You are too soft, Sarutobi. The Uchiha Clan is preparing for a civil war! This is not the time to be worried about policies!" Danzou interrupted, cane emphasizing his point with a loud thump. "Negotiations are not the answer to this. We all know the threat the Uchiha possess! With their eyes, they could take out a large part of our security and the Konoha Police Force is made up entirely of Uchiha. With that security breach, other nations would swoop in and conquer us."

Koharu tugged on her earlobe, an old nervous idiosyncrasy from her genin days. "I agree with Danzou on this, Hiruzen. They have been growing restless; we have seen the signs. We just didn't know the extent to their impatience with Konoha."

"But how would the other clans see this? Some would believe that this was an attempt to steal a valuble bloodline limit. We need to try and have the peace talks," the Hokage said, smoking on his pipe.

"Sarutobi-!"

"Enough!" Here the Sandaime slammed his fist into the table, finally losing his temper. "I am the Hokage, and I will decide what we do! Here we are, arguing about the fate of a clan in front of its heir, who was loyal enough to this village to tell us the truth about this, this _conspiracy_! I will give the Uchiha a chance to save themselves. Negotiations saved us when Kumo threatened to war against us after we were so weak after the Kyuubi attack. Negotiations, I trust, will not fail us now. Unnecessary force sows seeds of resentment, and then we might have more clans plotting rebellions!" Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a deep breath through his nose.

"Forgive us, Itachi, for speaking about the matter in front of you," the Sandaime apologized. Koharu was the only one with the decency to look mildly ashamed.

"There is nothing to forgive, Hokage-sama," replied Itachi from his crouch. _Sasuke has a chance. The Uchiha has a chance. Thank the gods._

"I am also sorry to say that we will need your services as our eyes and ears to the Uchiha Clan. You will still be in ANBU. If you drop out of the program so early, they, including your father, will bound to be suspicious," the Hokage explained.

"You wish for me to become a double agent for Konoha?" Itachi asked.

"Yes. This will be an unranked mission. No one outside of this room may know of it." At this, Sandaime Hokage stared at the annoyed Danzou. "No one and nothing, understand? This will be a SS-classed secret."

The God of Shinobi finally returned his gaze to Itachi. "You are dismissed, Itachi."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." With that Itachi flickered away, worry gnawing in his chest.

_**Ninja are wary, never trusting of one another. A true ninja always watches his back. **_

"Who are you?" Itachi hissed, kunai tightly held in a reverse grip against the soft flesh of the mask-wearing man.

The man chuckled. "You're good," he sing-songed. "But I'm better." He made a slight motion and Itachi was quick to slit his throat… had his kunai not gone through the man's flesh like it was just a simple _bushin_.

_Impossible! My Sharingan didn't notice anything of the sort! _Itachi jumped away from him, the tomoe in his eyes spinning madly.

The man raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Maa, maa, Itachi-san~!" he said in a high-pitched tone, which was slightly grating on the nerves. "Don't get so upset."

"What are you? How do you know my name?" Itachi said in his attack stance, Sharingan flashing.

"Youngsters these days! They really don't teach you history nowadays," hummed the man. "But that's what you should expect with a Senju-run Konoha." The man's voice had dropped from the nasal pitch to a much darker, more insane attitude.

_Dual personalities? _Itachi narrowed his eyes. _No, the first manner of speaking was to put me off guard. _

"And to how I knew who you are, well… Shouldn't a man know his own descendant?" The man chuckled.

"What?"

"You are the greatest prodigy in a clan known for it's outstanding ninjas, not that they would've lasted in the Great Ninja Wars. They're weak-willed, complacent lambs, perfectly content with being ruled over by Senju." The man paused, finger pointing to the air. "Well, that's what I thought, until I sniffed around a bit. Turns out they are living up to my old creeds. Too bad for them I have no patience for them or Konoha."

"You wish to attack Konoha?" Itachi asked, fingers tightening around the slim handle of the kunai. His body tensed, ready to spring forward at the slightest movement.

"But of course. I have no ties to this pathetic village any longer, or to my pathetic clan."

_Missing-nin. He's a powerful one, judging from those chakra reserves, and it appears that he's holding a large grudge against his past home. But Konoha's last missing-nin that's still roaming free is Orochimaru, and his levels were nowhere near this one's. _Itachi shifted slightly, mind whirling through possibilities.

_Review. He's apparently an Uchiha, if his ridiculous claim that he's my ancestor is true. Also hates Uchihas, and Konoha. Seems to despise the Senju, even though the Senju are no longer a clan, what with Tsunade-sama wandering Hi no Kuni. And strong, amazingly strong._

The thought process took less than a second, but Itachi was still left with nothing. The only choice that was left was ludicrous, because the only man that fit with the description was the old clan head, the one who's name the Uchiha were ashamed to speak, the one named…

"I am Uchiha Madara, and I am here to destroy this village, little Prodigy. And there is nothing that you can do about it." The man took off his mask, and a face that belonged to a statue at the Valley of the End appeared. His right eye opened Sharingan-red, yet the tomoe were wrong, and something in Itachi was repulsed at the sight.

"I won't go down without a fight. People will notice, including the Hokage and the ANBU forces," Itachi said, anger coloring his voice.

"Your ANBU are nothing, and I remember when your Hokage was one of Tobirama's brats. There's really nothing you can do." Madara shot him a wicked smile, long hair picked up by the wind. "Be grateful. You will be the first to die under my Eternal Mangekyou, then the rest of your clan and village will go."

"The clan is already doomed," said Itachi. He only had one chance, one pitifully tiny chance of saving Konoha.

"Hm? Konoha already caught them? They _are_ pitiful," Madara scoffed.

"I have a proposition for you, Madara-san," Itachi began, feeling like he was making a deal with the devil. _This is the only way…_

Madara paused, staring at him with the (wrong, wrong, oh so wrong) Sharingan eyes. Then his mouth stretched into a feral smile. "Do tell."

_**Shinobi need to sever emotional ties. They hold you back from completing your mission. **_

"Man, Itachi! I swear on the gods, if I have to deal with those annoying little brats anymore, I'll snap and go abso-freaking-lutely kill 'em all! _God_! I mean, what the _hell_? Those girls were _giggling _at _me_, the Amazing and Awe-Inspiring Uchiha Shisui of the Body Flicker! Geez!" Shisui complained.

"It's the eyes…" Itachi mumbled absent-mindedly, walking down the deserted road with his best friend and cousin. Shisui was around sixteen years old, and had black curly hair and longer eyelashes than Itachi, which was saying something.

"Nngh. Curse you Mother for passing down the wrong set of genes! Now I am cursed to deal with freakish giggling fan girls who think I'm gay for _Hatake Kakashi _of all people! I mean, seriously? That Sharingan thief? No way in hell, man!" Shisui sighed, obviously very putout with the universe. "But in all seriousness, I think that'll be the first thing I'll do when the Uchiha take our rightful place. I'll rip out my big brother's eye from that apathetic _loser_. God, I really do hate that man. Obito-nii would never give away the Sharingan, no matter what Fugaku-ji-sama thinks."

Itachi winced inwardly. Shisui hated Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan the most out of all 'those Senju tree-huggers' for surviving the mission that took Uchiha Obito away from him. He was adamant that Kakashi must've torn out Obito's eye as he lay dying and made his other teammate Rin implant it. The other Uchiha just viewed Obito as a Giant Failure. Itachi had liked Obito-nii-san, however. His mother Mikoto liked to use her nephew as a babysitter.

The two stopped by the bank of the Nakano River, listening to the quiet gurgling of the water.

"Mmm," hummed Shisui, stretching his arms above his head. "This is a whole lot better than listening to your dad talk. I mean, I am totally behind the revolution, its just I've never really liked to sit in on spot for so long. Ayame-oba-san gave me the evil eye for breathing wrong, the old biddy."

"Do you… do you really think that it'll work?" whispered Itachi. He was staring at the river with an intensity that he usually only gave to missions.

Shisui looked over at him. "What do I think will work?"

"The coup d'etat. Do you really think that the Uchiha has a chance against all the rest of the villagers?"

"Hell yeah, I do! I mean, we're the greatest clan ever! With the Sharingan on our side, we're invincible. The world will quiver at the very thought of us, the strongest village ever!" Shisui grinned widely, fist pumping the air.

"I… see…" Itachi closed his eyes, wanting the ground to swallow him whole.

"Hey, what's wrong, 'Tachi? You know, you've been acting really weird ever since you joined ANBU. I think you need a break from your missions," Shisui said worriedly, walking until he was between Itachi and the river, bending over a little so he could stare his friend in the face. Itachi avoided his gaze.

"You're a lot more absent-minded for one, and you've been avoiding me and Sasuke for a while. The kid was really upset the other day when you wouldn't play with him."

Itachi turned his head away. Shisui widened his eyes, and then narrowed them. "Oi! Don't you ignore me, Uchiha Itachi!"

Itachi whipped his head around to look Shisui in the eyes, Sharingan blazing. "Kanashibari no Jutsu!"

Shisui's eyes widened for a millisecond before his body froze up, and then Itachi was on him in a second, pushing him into the river. Shisui's head made a horrible cracking noise against the hard bedrock, but Itachi ignored it. He concentrated on keeping Shisui's head beneath the water while not bruising the body.

The jutsu wore off quickly on Shisui ("Hey, 'Tachi, guess what? I'm _jounin_, baby! I'm _elite_!") and Shisui immediately started to thrash about. Itachi pressed harder on his best friend's (not best friend anymore, because best friends don't try to kill one another, right?) shoulders, no emotions slipping through his mask.

After several long, agonizing minutes, Shisui finally started to choke. Bubbles escaped through his mouth and nose, his chest started to heave and then his body went limp. His eyes were wide-open in death, staring straight ahead with Sharingan eyes. Itachi stood up off Shisui and watched as his friend's corpse was swept away by the current. He stumbled onto the bank, not noticing that his clothes were wet, and flopped down onto his hands and knees, dry-heaving.

He had… he had _just killed his best friend_! Shisui was dead because of him!His eyes prickled, and Itachi thought he was going to cry until the pain increased to a burning, stabbing torture, twisting and writhing in agony. _Oh my god, my eyes! _Itachi's throat spasmed as he choked back screams, fingers clawing wildly to gouge out his eyes; the pain was just _too much_!

Suddenly strong hands were at his wrist, holding them captive. "Breathe, Itachi. Don't want to damage those pretty new eyes of yours," Madara said genially.

Itachi felt warm blood flow from his eyes. He gasped, feeling the pain recede little by little. Finally, he could open his eyes, slowly, ever so slowly, and saw Madara's swirling mask.

"Mmm. Interesting design. It looks like a pinwheel. Perhaps you are a child at heart, eh, Itachi?" laughed Madara.

_Maybe sick at heart. I want to die. _Itachi closed his eyes again. He could still see Shisui's accusing glare from under the water.

_**Shinobi never reveal their true purpose. They are times when you must deceive even your allies. **_

"Nii-san! Mother and Father are…! Who would do such a thing?!" Sasuke wailed in agony. He didn't understand yet, that Itachi had just murdered their family. Tears were slipping down his cheeks, and he stared at their parents' bodies with absolute horror on his face.

_What do I do? _Itachi hadn't planned on sticking around after he killed the Uchiha. He had actually forgotten that Sasuke was staying out late. He had been so occupied with the fact that he had just slaughtered the people who raised him that he didn't notice Sasuke come running into the house until he had opened the door.

_I have to… I have to kill him… _Itachi shuddered inwardly but pulled out a shuriken. He would make it fast and painless. Sasuke deserved that much. He deserved a lot more than that, but fate had been cruel to both of them. Itachi aimed and was about to flick his wrist-

_-Hey, Nii-san, can you teach me some shuriken jutsu?-_

_-Sasuke, smiling shyly at him, adoration shining from his eyes-_

_-I love you, Aniki!-_

Itachi flinched and the shuriken flew wide and grazed Sasuke's shoulder instead. The look Sasuke gave him would haunt his dreams forever.

_I can't do it. _Itachi felt miserable. _I can't kill him and end his suffering. I'm too weak. _

Then Itachi felt a plan spring into his mind. It wasn't the best plan, but it was the best he could think of at the time. _Forgive me, Sasuke. _

"Foolish little brother," Itachi said emotionlessly. His eyes flashed into pinwheel eyes. "_Mangekyou Sharingan!_"

Sasuke screamed. Itachi died inside.

**---**

"**That's what the Shinobi Rules of Conduct says, anyway."**

"**Nii-san, that doesn't sound very nice at all."**

"**Well then, when you become a ninja you can change all that, Sasuke."**

"**Just you wait and see, Aniki! I'll be the best ninja ever! Better than you even!"**

"**Okay, okay. Now, let me see you throw these shuriken."**

"**Hai!"**

** ---**

**Author's Note: **The bold italicized font was Itachi quoting the Shinobi Rules of Conduct to Sasuke. The bolded interlude is (obviously) Itachi and Sasuke speaking. Itachi's life is why shinobi shouldn't follow the rules to the letter. Better to see underneath the underneath, ne? Bend 'em, a little! By the way, I have a new favorite character to write: Shisui. And yes, in this story, Shisui is Obito's little brother. That's how Itachi and Shisui met: at Obito's funeral.

Poor, 'Tachi, He tries so hard, yet everybody insists on screwing him over. Especially Madara. God! I hate him _so much_! I liked him better as Tobi. At least I got a kick out of him then.


End file.
